Empty Words - Part Three | Devotions to Produce Spiritual Growth

with Diane K Hiltz Chamberlain

Do we realize where our words of faith can take us? To me…faith can feel as though we are walking through a dark room; but believing that we can make it through the darkness…even when we can’t see what’s ahead of us. Faith can lead us to moments of blessings; that we never thought we’d experience and faith can cause us to rise above the moments that only seem to be taking us further down. As I have been sitting here today…spending some quiet moments with God; I came across a couple verses in Matthew 21: 21-22, which reads… “Jesus replied, “Truly I tell you, if you have faith and do not doubt, not only can you do what was done to the fig tree, but also you can say to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and it will be done. (22) If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Can we say that our faith is strong enough to move a mountain into the sea? You may think that this is an odd question but I have come to see recently; that it’s so easy to limit God’s work…just by the way we think and react to a situation and because of this…we never truly experience the depth of His power in our lives. Do we realize today; that what we believe in can truly come to pass, when we have God in our lives? This past week, I was facing some overwhelming obstacles within the ministry and as I sat here one evening…talking to God; it was as though He was questioning me and saying within my spirit… “Diane, do you believe that all these obstacles that are standing before you can truly be crushed by me?” You know…it’s so easy to say that we believe that something can be accomplished but the thing we need to ask ourselves; is do our hearts match up to our words. As I continued to talk with God about the problems I was facing; I began to look at a picture I have of Jesus on my office wall and while listening to some powerful music; I began to realize that it’s so easy for us to limit God…by what we think He can do, rather than what He can truly do. Instantly, my hands went into the air and I said… “Lord, I know that no matter how many negative things stand before me…your power alone can crush them to the ground” and do you know that by Friday afternoon; every negative thing that had been standing before, was truly crushed to the ground, as God’s blessings began to stand before me, instead of the problems. What a God we serve!! If only we would give Him a chance to work, by believing and having faith; that there is nothing that our God cannot do. As we begin this brand new day; can we say that we are prepared to allow our faith to help us overcome the trying moments that may attempt to stand before us? Do we know that we can stand tall and face the problems that seem to be like giants before us or do we find ourselves wallowing down before them? If we are ever going to truly experience the complete fullness, of a God that is rich in power; then first, we must have faith and trust God to take over, where we may be weak, while allowing Him to work, in a way that will cause us to stand in awe of His powerful presence.